Infodump

The post from earlier this week was a little light on actual news so I wanted to drop some info (y'know...for the three people who follow this blog...whom I already talk to on the damn phone! hahaha). Well, first up, Foe Gokin news. Right about now, the only thing I'm waiting on is prints from Shapeways. Shocker. Well, what can ya do? Once I get those arm pieces, it's off to the resin-caster, and once the castings are ready, it's off to Walker for stickering and painting. Meanwhile, one of my homeboys is hooking up the box for the production figures...some ill shit in the works.

So the end is in sight. Sorta. I mean, this is kind of a weird position for me: like, I've used the phrase, "hurry up and wait" before...but this is wild, man. I'm basically chilling, waiting for all these elements to come together. I guess it gives me time to work on other shit, though, right? Staying creative--staying creating--is clutch. And the key to maintaining.

...

Here's an interesting development: "alumide". This shit's basically aluminum powder mixed with polyamide (basically, plastic) powder. A process called laser sintering is used to zap portions of a reservoir of the powder mix to fuse it. The result isn't normal, everyday solid aluminum, but you get a part that can resist almost 350 degrees Fahrenheit! It's a bit brittle, has a sorta grainy/porous texture, and the detail's not gonna blow your damn mind...but the shit's cheap as fuck. I went ahead and printed up a copy of Foe Gokin Gin Gin's head in this stuff (cost me $8!)...and, naturally, I forgot to photograph the fucking thing to post here! Anyway, I'ma send it to my metal caster to see if she can make a better vulcanized rubber mold out of it. The vulcanizer can get up to 300 degrees, and we've seen that take its toll on resin-cast prototypes. Maybe this shit can survive better and ultimately yield better castings. Hey, ya never know!

Next up, MUSCLEs.

Check it. I was thinking [that's never a safe thing]: Baby Gin Gin is an obvious product for me to make. It'll make a slick pack-in with the Foe Gokin, and they'll be pretty damn hot sold on their own. Naturally, I'll be making MUSCLE versions of all my Foe Gokin designs from here on out. Anyway, the AshuraShine is a bit of an odd man out, y'knowmsayin? I mean, he's just a fun side project that turned into a cool little figure. But it's kinda weird to have him as a stand-alone guy from outta nowhere...so it dawned on me the other day: why not make more "sunshined" versions of my favorite MUSCLEs?

Well, I just doodled these fuckers up...BOOM!





Black Killer becomes "SunKiller" and Buffaloman becomes "BuffaloShine"! They look kinda hot, y'knowmsayin (especially the pixelated look of Buffaloman)? These two dudes were my favorite MUSCLEs growing up, along with Ashuraman. So...if I end up designing these guys, I'll have a nice little trio of alternate reality Sunshine-versions of my favorite characters! They'll make a tight three-pack (or at least singles with a common theme), I think.

Anyway, one last teaser for now: today, I started working on the next Foe Gokin. Heh...I've told a couple heads in the inner circle who the character is, but I'ma keep that shit a secret until production Gin Gins are ready. Hey, come to the Summit and see if you can needle the 411 outta me! ;)

Yo, can't beat this weather...

...So you know I had to pop outside with my camera for a minute to take some dumb pictures in the sunshine!



^^I love this shot! I noticed the other day that I have a *bunch* of Gin Gin MUSCLE prints laying around from various material tests, design tweaks, and other goofy experiments. So...why not pile 'em all up!

This guy's extra special:


This is a "transparent detail" (Objet) print from Shapeways...but I had Walker hit 'im with his heavy duty clear-coat. Heh...the shell's probably tougher than the material inside, but just check out that ill gloss!



The coat was probably too thick, overall--it's actually obscuring a bunch of the minute detail...but whateva, man. It was fun to mess with.

Next up, I just wanted to take a shot of AshuraShine next to one of the legit Ashuraman figures:



Heh...I have no idea how this never occurred to me before, but showing them off side by side just seems natural! Obviously, y'all can see how I tried to keep the position of the arms kinda consistent...even if the hand gestures are different.



And just assembling some Gin Gin figures today (yes, the actual Foe Gokin joints!). I never got around to gluing the Tohoku version properly, so that's all set now...and what you see is the very last of the Yojimbo versions (sorry, it's long been spoken for...I just need to hand-deliver it to a special fan)!



Don't worry--more Foe Gokin are coming. And in a big way.

In fact, I've got plenty of cool stuff in the works. Watch for another news update real soon...I'ma get back to chillin' in this heat! ;)